BENGALURU: History books tell us that Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore, fought many fierce battles against the British and died fighting during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799. But the man who lives on in history books may not survive the BJP government.
Asked about Tipu Sultan references in English language textbooks ahead of his birth anniversary next month, CM BS Yediyurappa curtly said, "101 per cent, we will not allow such things to happen. We will remove everything.'' Later, when another journalist asked the same question in Kannada, he sobered down a bit and replied, "The government is considering removing references to Tipu Sultan from textbooks.''
Historians in Karnataka reacted in shock, pointing out that this will mean erasing an entire period of history when Tipu waged a series of offensive and defensive battles and carried out several administrative measures many of which continued to be in force for decades in the kingdom of Mysore. How can anyone erase a period of history because of someone's religious beliefs, they asked.
Earlier this month, the BJP MLA from Madikeri Appachu Ranjan had written a letter to the education department seeking the removal of content related to Tipu Sultan from school and college textbooks as it contained 'wrong information'.
The Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar subsequently wrote a note to the Managing Director of the Karnataka Textbook Society, asking them to invite the MLA and discuss the matter.
It may be recalled that within days of taking over on July 30, the newly formed BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa decided to cancel the Tipu Jayanti celebrations started by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in 2015.